San Dimas Woman Shocked She's Charged With Animal Cruelty After Trapping Skunk That Ended Up Dead

SAN DIMAS (CBSLA.com)  —  A San Dimas woman is shocked to find out she's being charged with animal cruelty after she trapped a skunk -- she was told to trap.

Cynthia Casas told KCAL9's Crystal Cruz she first saw the skunk roaming around her back yard through a window.

Later, she saw the skunk in a trap left by her husband.

"I never walked over. I never came outside," she said.

Casas says she stayed inside with her son and doesn't go in the backyard over a concern about fleas.

"Nobody is allowed to come out here until we get rid of the skunks and the fleas," she said.

The Humane Society was called and Cynthia went on to nurse her son.

"Skunks are adorable," Casas said, "I mean if you've seen their faces they're super cute but for me to make the choice and go and be covered in fleas and maybe sprayed and come into my baby, for me I can't do something like that."

The Humane Society officer told Casas the skunk was dead. A necropsy was performed to confirm cause of death and to Cynthia's surprise she was charged with crimes against animals.

"She made it out like she came and caught me doing something malicious to an animal," Casas said.

The Humane Society claimed Casas failed to check the trap and say they told her to cover it and place it in a shaded area because it was 90 degrees outside. Cynthia says she was never told any of this.

"How could this happen? We're trying to do the right thing. They're trying to make it out that we're these bad people," Casas said.

Cases has a court date set for September. She could face a year in jail and $20,000 dollars in fines.

The Inland Valley Humane Society claims they have a 100 percent conviction rate.